


Cold Captives

by Blu3g1rl



Series: Random One shots [1]
Category: Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: Appo needs a hug, Episode Remix, Fighting, Obi-Wan needs Tylenol, Rex Needs a Hug, mom making this up as I go
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-11
Updated: 2020-09-11
Packaged: 2021-03-07 01:41:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 14,151
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26398837
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Blu3g1rl/pseuds/Blu3g1rl
Summary: After Anakin gets grounded from the war the 501st gets a new General. And this one is even more trouble than the Team combined. Good thing their first mission is just a simple escort and check up to a boring ice moon. Right?
Series: Random One shots [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1918636
Kudos: 4





	Cold Captives

Republic outpost overrun!

The Jedi have lost all contact with the clone security force stationed on the bleak snow-covered planet of Orto-Plutonia. Jedi Knight Ava Charr, Master Obi-Wan Kenobi and mysterious new leader of the 501st, accompanied by dignitaries from the nearby moon of Pantora, are sent to investigate the disappearance of the clone troopers on the desolate and forbidding landscape.

  
  


“And this is the planet's tropical zone,” Obi-Wan joked to Commander Cody over the howling wind as the two walked up to where Rex and his new General were. “Have they arrived yet?” Obi-Wan asked the green haired Jedi Knight, “they” being Knight Ava Charr and her squad. Both men wore parkas in their respective colors. 

“Not even a shade of blue skin,” the other Jedi joked as Rex trailed behind him. “Ten credits says she ain’t coming due to the weather or company.” Cody bristled at the disrespect the other general gave to his General. He could spot Rex doing the same thing.

General Kenobi chuckled warmly at the other Jedi. He was quite the character, “With how it is currently, I don’t blame them.” 

“Sirs!” Waxer ran up to them and pointed to the gunship coming down. “They’re here!”

“Rex, have some of the men survey the area and place as many sensor beacons as you can before dark,” Obi-Wan ordered as Charr and her men walked over to them. Unlike the other Jedi, Charr was wearing regular issued clothes. 

“Yes sir!” Rex obeyed and veered off to find some poor unsuspecting vod’e to do it. “Unload that gear! Let's move!”

“Come along, you two.” Obi-Wan offered a smile to the 501st leader. “Greetings, Knight Charr.” Obi-Wan smiled at the woman. “It’s good to see you again,” Obi-Wan said warmly to the Chiss and gestured to the other Jedi, “I don’t believe you are caught up on the news yet. Anakin is grounded for the time being; so in his place the Council has delegated leadership to–”

“Sup, princess,” the other Jedi interrupted, dark red eyes shining with mischievousness, “Did you miss me?”

Charr’s eyes widened at the figure. “Jacen?” she said in surprise before recovering quickly. “I’m surprised that the Council gave you, of all people, power.” Next to Jacen, Rex tensed. That comment didn’t sound ominous at all. Fear flooded him for a moment. Was this Jetti a bad Jetti? Would he lose his brothers in a horrific and useless way? 

A knowing look crossed her face as she gazed at Obi-Wan. “Then again, it was the Council’s decision.” Obi-Wan didn’t give her the satisfaction of a rebuttal. 

Ava studied her friend; it had been quite some time since they had been together. Jacen’s normally messy reddish-blonde hair was dyed an obnoxious green. She wondered what made him decide that but refrained from asking, knowing full well that if Jacen wasn’t in the mood to share then she would have an easier time making Hoth sunny. 

Another thing that had changed was the black face mask covering over his face, hiding away much of his normally pale and freckled face and boyish smile that he no doubt had. 

Likewise, Jacen studied the woman. Ava Charr’s skin was dark blue, darker than the Pantorans around them, and her eyes, both the whites and iris, were a glowing red. Her long black hair was braided crop-row style, newly dyed red at the tips and pulled back in a nerf-tail. Her signature staff lightsaber was firmly by her side. Jacen’s hands twitched with a want to test his skills against hers. 

“General Kenobi!” Chairman Cho interrupted rudely, “Can we begin now that the pleasantries are over with?” Jacen tilted his head at him with a fixed smile on his hidden face. As rude as always. Cho then noticed the masked man and smiled, “Ah, I see that the Senate decided to send the Coruscant Guards.”

Everyone looked confused for a moment before Jacen spoke up, “Not at all, Chairman.” As if he wanted his precious Guards anywhere near the unpleasant politician. Fox was too pure to be sullied by the Chairman and his henchmen. 

“But you are here,” Cho insisted and looked around for familiar red armor. The man would prefer the Guards due to their training and their knowledge of treating such high standing beings like himself with respect. “Are you not the General of the Guard?”

More than one head turned to the green haired man with surprised looks and Jacen rubbed his neck sheepishly. “Haha,” he laughed, “Nope!” He popped the ‘p’ cheerfully, “I was just a captain in the Maximum, nothing too special.” He ignored how Kenobi’s eyes narrowed in suspicion. “Got called up by the Council and was told that I’ll be taking over the 501st while Skywalker is unavailable.” Jacen ran a hand through his hair, “Yer stuck wit boys in blue.”

Cho gave him a disappointed look and Jacen resisted the urge to stick his tongue out at him. “Pity, I wished there were soldiers that knew their betters here.” Jacen licked his lips and raised his eyebrows but remained silent, not wanting to get in trouble. 

Deciding to change topics Obi-Wan spoke up, before Rex would “accidentally” shoot the man. “Chairman Cho, Senator Chuchi. I suggest you wait here until we can secure the area.” He gestured to the new General. “Jacen here will keep you company while Knight Charr and I go with some of our men and explore the base to see if it’s safe.” 

To his surprise it wasn’t Cho who disagreed but Jacen, “How ‘bout no? Let’s let the Jedi trained for this go in and take a look?” He pointed a finger at Rex, “You, wit me. Grab a medic and we’ll head on in.”

Obi and Ava shared an exasperated look as Jacen walked off before anyone could say anything. “Best do as he says, Captain,” Obi-Wan advised dryly, “Lest he gets bored and goes off on his own.”

“Some things never change,” Ava sighed out fondly. 

ooOoo

Rex and Kix trailed slightly behind their new General as they walked into the base. Kix’s breath hitched as heads of their brothers spiked on spears decorated the large hanger. Rex glanced at the man and placed a hand on his shoulder in comfort, “Deep breath vod,” he ordered in a low tone, not wanting General Brodi to hear. 

Kix sucked in a shaky breath as he fought the urge to throw up. When Rex came to him with General Brodi he didn’t suspect that he would walk into this carnage. 

“Oi, medic,” Brodi turned to look at him with blank ruby colored eyes, “I need yer opinion. Droids or something else?” There was a strange note in his question, as if he already knew the answer but wanted confirmation. Brodi, he noted, was standing in front of a head, leaning in close to examine it. 

Kix exhaled a shaky breath and obeyed. “Something else,” he confirmed and the Jedi released a breath through his teeth. 

“Damn,” Jacen murmured to himself but it echoed around the empty hangar, “Firefek,” he looked around with a critical eye, “Look for any survivors. If we’re dealing wit wot I think we are then droids will be the least of our problems. Imma go ta the control room and pull any footage. Holler if need be.” Jacen scratched his eye absently. He waited until both nodded before walking up the stairs and opened the door. 

ooOoo

Obi-Wan was cut off mid sentence as Jacen stormed out of the base with a furious look. 

“General Brodi,” Chairman Cho addressed, blind to the fury the Jedi had, “Are we dealing with droids?” Jacen ignored him as he grabbed a speeder and revved the engine. “General!” Cho snarled, annoyed to repeat himself. 

Just as he put a pair of goggles on he threw the nearest clone, Cas, a communicator. “I’ll be in touch,” he growled out and kicked off without another word. 

Ava turned to Obi-Wan with an arched eyebrow and he sighed, “I have no idea.” He answered her unspoken question as Kix and Rex ran out. “Rex, Kix,” he smiled politely at the troopers, “Do you know what has set off our friend?” 

Rex shook his head, “No sir,” he answered, “We were in the hangar when General Brodi stormed out of the control room.” 

“Let’s head there and find some answers then.” Obi-Wan decided with a frown. “I have a bad feeling about this.”

ooOoo

“Do you think the Separatists are building a forward base to attack Pantora?” Chairman Cho demanded as they walked into the hanger. “Is that why General Brodi ran off?” 

The group of Jedi, politicians and clones stopped at the sight of havoc. Obi-Wan heard more than one person dry heave as he stepped over a frozen puddle of blood. He mentally hardened himself, prepared to see even worse as he continued to walk. 

It took every bit of his control not to throw up as he came across the heads of troopers staring at him with unseeing eyes. Was this what had upset the other man? 

“No, Chairman,” Obi-Wan said grimly, “I don’t believe so.” He took a shuddering breath and collected himself. “Have some men give the dead a burial, Cody,” he ordered in a tight voice. 

“Yes sir,” his faithful commander said, voice filled with controlled fury. 

“Master Kenobi, I think we should find out what upset Jacen,” Ava murmured as Ghost Company started to spread out and collect the dead. 

Obi-Wan’s eyes never left the beheaded clone’s, “I agree.”

ooOoo

Jacen’s hands gripped the speeder tight enough to hurt as he flew closer towards the mountains. White and black bled red. 

_ “We’re prepared to die...” _

_ Air hot enough to set the air on fire licked his skin. Inhuman screams all around.  _

_ Painpainpainpainpainpain– why did it hurt? Why couldn’t he  _ breathe _? Where were his men? What was going on? _

_ More screaming. Who was screaming? Pain pain pain.... _

_ Was he dying? _

A gust of frigid wind blasted him off the speeder and he rolled onto the snow with a grunt. “Fek!” He snarled and hit the ground with a fist. He closed his eyes and took in a deep breath before standing up. His speeder took some damage from his fall, he noted as he revved it up. It wasn’t going to make the trip back and he cursed again. 

He closed his eyes and counted to three before kicking off and rode to the mountains, more aware of the wind. 

000

Ava’s breath hitched slightly as she walked into the hangar. Scattered broken bodies of dead clones were strewn all around. Trails of blood painted the morbid deaths of the men stationed here and suddenly she understood her friend’s anger. 

“Easy there,” Obi-Wan advised her as he walked up next to her. “Deep breaths.”

Ava rubbed her temples as the room came back into focus. "Sorry," she muttered, cheeks tingeing purple, and cleared her throat. A glimmer of white in a pool of frozen blood caught her eye. "Hair. Not human," she grunted. Taking out a small forensic kit, she scraped off a bit so she didn't break the hair and put it in a sample bag.

“This has to be the work of the Separatists.” Chairman Cho decreed haughtily, the only one not affected by the carnage. 

“Don’t be too sure Chairman,” Obi-Wan politely disagreed as he strolled over to a nearby computer. “The only person to have touched these systems was Sentinel Brodi.” His gloved finger tapped the machine to pull up whatever Jacen was looking at. 

A blurred image of a clone glitched to life. “This is CC-1119!” The man shouted in with frantic eyes, “ _ We’ve been over run by hostile f͙̌ô͚r͚̀c̗̀eś͇, ̹̞̔̕w͉͐́ͅè̙̙̖͊͡ ̀ͅnĕ͇̼͖̀͑͟͝e̤͞d̯̼͖̜̦̈̓͆͡͡ ̧̛̩̞̮̹̍̆̈́͝b͕̻̮̻̊̑͛̉͟͠a͔̬͙͓͒̓̋͑͢͠c̤̟̜̹̯̒̃͑̇͠k̜̯̰̖̠̂̐̈́̋͆ ̛͕̠̖̫̪͑̋̚͘ù̥̟̤̜̦̓̽̀̽p͍̭̖̱̦̓̓͌̄̈ _ !̧͍͔͈͛̓̍̿̊͟” As the man spoke the more apparent of the damage done to it became. “ _ We̻̹̣͐́͘ ͎̦̍̍nE̱̍È̠̺̤̪̊̑̂̚͜d—̛̗͇̳̯̿̇̉ ̡̙̥͔̖̐̏̿̈́͑ẘ̞͔͞H̛͟ă̲̗̟̩̐̋̌̽͜T̠͑ ͔̭͋̕t͛͝ͅͅH̨̯̪́̓̇e̢̬̽͝!̡̻̼̊͊͘?̼̪̇̚ ̢̲͊̊A̛͎̬͇͂͆h̢͕̫͑̀̓hĤ̼H̡͚̞͙̓̌̃͝ẖ̙̬̱̱̌͑̓̀͐h͈͙̪̩͐͌͆̉͆͟ _ h̟͑!͐͟” He was cut off as something jumped in front of him and dragged him off view, his terrorized screams echoing loudly in the control room. 

Ava hoped he had died quickly and bowed her head in respect. Obi-Wan’s voice broke the silence, his tone tight with underlying anger, “Have your captain contact Jacen, Ava.” He ordered as he stared out the window. 

Ava nodded to her captain and he tried to obey the order. “General Brodi, this is Captain Cas, respond.” 

She raised an eyebrow as the Master continued to stare out the window with a thoughtful look. “Master Kenobi?” 

“Cody, bring up a list of who was stationed here,” Obi-Wan politely ignored her question as he turned back around to his commander. Ever so faithful, Marshall nodded and walked away with Waxer and Boil. “Jacen, why didn’t you say something?” He asked himself in a tired tone. 

“General Kenobi?” It was Rex and Ava felt his confusion and wariness in the Force.

“General Brodi, respond.” Cas repeated into the comm and static greeted him back. A bad feeling crawled up Obi-Wan’s throat and a feeling of uneasy silence mockingly assaulted his ears. The door slid open and Cody came with Waxer and Boil. 

“How many men were stationed here Cody?” Obi-Wan asked with a distressed frown.

“Twenty-five sir,” Cody answered, his normal calm voice low and deadly. 

It was as he feared. He closed his eyes briefly and silently cursed Jacen for his rashness. “How many?”

“How many what, sir?” Cas asked. General Kenobi wasn’t the type who needed people to repeat themselves. 

“Twenty two,” Cody nearly growled out. “Sir should I have Ghost Company gear up?” 

Obi-Wan wanted to laugh hysterically, it seemed like everyone had gotten infected with Jacen’s recklessness. “No, don’t. With how the storm is right now we’ll only be adding to our loss.” He looked back out the window, “We’ll just have to have faith that General Brodi can find them.” He closed his eyes and bowed his head. “Jacen is a skilled tracker, I have no doubt he’ll find them,” he tried to assure his commander but the words felt hollow. “Let’s focus on finding out who attacked our base.”

Cody, Ava sensed in the Force, felt frustrated and angry but nodded anyway. “Yessir. Tripsevens found the location of a Separatist base by the northern ridge. I’ll have Ghost Company move out on your orders.” 

_ Twenty-five. Twenty-two. Twenty-five, twenty two....  _

“Sir?” Rex asked, an annoyed edge in his tone. “What’s going on? Why did General Brodi leave?” What was with Jedi and being cryptic? 

“General Brodi is out looking for-”

_ Survivors,  _ Ava realized. Cody continued on with anger leaking out, “The three surviving men from the company stationed here.” 

“But even if they did survive the attack, the cold…” Cas trailed off.

“That would be why Jacen left in such a hurry,” Ava realized out loud, the final pieces of the puzzle snapping into place. “Without bringing a medic.”  _ The impulsive idiot  _ “Kix, Patch, get everything prepped for three critical cases.” She glanced over to Obi-Wan for confirmation.

He nodded, “I fear though that until Jacen comms in with a location we’ll have to focus on the droid base. Have your squad ready to head out. We leave as soon as the storm blows over.”

“Yes, master.”

000

The storm angrily howled around him as Jacen stopped in front of the edge of white cliff. With keen eyes he scanned the area before leaning over the cliff. Harsh ledges jutted out at random points and sharp crags waved back at him tauntingly. He sucked in a sharp breath and ripped off his gloves. Despite the warmth they provided they would only make his descent much more dangerous.

Slowly he climbed down, cautiously using the Force to help find stable ledges to use. Jacen was forced to admit that his old Master’s crazy teachings actually came in handy. The old coot was never going to let him live it down once he found out about it. Halfway down the snow covered cliff a flash of light caught his eyes. He jerked his head to it but much to his disappointment there was nothing. Merely a trick of the storm and that trick cost him his grip. 

His heart pounded in his chest as he blindly grabbed the side of the cliff, trying to stop his fall. Numb hands caught onto a jagged edge and a whine of pain escaped him. The ice on the rocks bit into his skin and his blood warmed his hands as it began to paint the white. He closed his eyes and tried to even his harsh breathing. Panicking was not going to help him down nor let him do his mission. Once he felt more calm he continued to climb down. Fifteen feet near the snowy ground he jumped, landing in a crouch. His arms throbbed in pain and he was surprised that none of his fingers froze off. He looked back up and hoped that the others were having a much better, and warmer, time than him.

  
  


000

The same damage and destruction that happened to their base also happened to the Separatist. Ripped parts of battle droids half covered in snow littered around the base and just like the air hangar the heads of the droids were jammed onto sharpened spears. Scorch marks darkened some patches of ice as the group slowly made their way through the base, checking every nook and cranny for any surprises. The tension within the soldiers could have been sliced in half with a vibro blade.

The room with the computers was void of any signs of life or droids, it made Cipher shiver. While the base was covered in droid parts and blast marks, here it was as if none of the clankers had even come into the room. “Cipher, see if you can get anything from this computer,” his commander ordered. 

“Yessir.” He knelt down and started fiddling with the controls. After several minutes, a fragmented holorecording appeared before fading out. He pressed a few more buttons trying to bring back the recording. The fragmented droid danced around, coming in and out of focus and he scowled. It looked like whatever had attacked the place had damaged the main generator. He gave up on trying to stabilize the ruined machine and kneeled down to the metal base. 

“Need a hand vod?” Crys asked behind him and knelt down as well. Crys was one of the members of the 212th that he admired. A fellow slicer and computer technician, Crys was one of the few members of the Ghost Company that didn’t normally fight in the thick of battle but instead would stay behind and sliced into Seppie frequency or sneak into bases to collect intel. He was so incredible at his job that Cipher felt privileged to not only watch but work with the lieutenant. Steady golden gloved hands opened a near hidden panel twisted a few wires together. “Hand me your comm vod,” he grunted as he reached up to hit a button on the console. 

Cipher passed it over. “What are you going to do with it?” he asked, several possibilities whirring through his mind.

“A few things,” Crys began to lecture as he flipped the comm over and looked at it. “It’s an old one,” he muttered to himself but Cipher heard and felt embarrassed. His squad was a small one and they operated outside of regular battalions, joining up with different sectors when Commander Charr had to work with another Jedi. He wasn’t blind like some of his squad mates to know that their team was unusual and he, like Patch, was fully aware of what it meant. More freedom, sure but also it meant that their supplies were much more limited. Cipher had planned on updating his gear when they got back to the Negotiator but was going to do it after the mission. He bit his lip, happy that his helmet hid his red cheeks and mentally promised to switch out his gear for new ones immediately. 

Then Crys did something completely unexpected and Cipher jumped a little as the older clone whammed his comm against the console loudly. The back half of the device broke off, revealing small wires and with deft fingers the clone pulled a few apart. “We’ll only be able to watch this once,” he warned everyone in the room as he connected wires of the comm to the computer. “Ready sirs?”

“Let’s make this count,” General Kenobi nodded, “Hopefully we might find out who’s causing all this trouble.” 

Crys hit a button and the battle droid burst to life on the large computer. “Blast it!” The clanker cursed, “We’re being overrun! We need reinforcements!” It cried out as a large hairy being lunged onto screen, tackling the robotic captain. The recording ended after that. 

“I believe we know where the hair came from,” Commander Charr offered up dryly. “Has anyone noticed anything else?”

“They're natives,” General Kenobi intoned gravely. “Look at the weapons it used and how brutally it attacked everyone. It seems like Chairman Cho was wrong about this planet being uninhabited.”

Ava nodded. “If they have remained isolated for so long, they must have been spooked when the Republic created a base here. Perhaps the droids attacked first and our outpost was caught in the middle.” 

Obi-Wan stroked his beard in thought. It was a solid theory but that didn’t explain why three clones were taken prisoner. “Let’s not draw to conclusions just yet, my dear,” he simply said, “We need to find these beings and see if we can come to a peaceful agreement.” He looked over to Crys and Cipher, “Copy down any information you can that the Separatists had and we’ll return back to base and go over it. Hopefully by then Jacen will have found our lost soldiers and the worst of the storm will pass.” He nodded to Ava, “Let’s go find our men and inform them of the situation.” Both Jedi walked out to do just that. 

Crys began to unhook the wires from the comm and computer. “We’re gonna need to take the mainframe and bring it back to base,” he hummed out. He continued to hum under his breath as Cipher watched. 

“How did you get the vid to play?” he asked the older clone. He’d never seen a comm used like that before. Though to be fair, he had never thought about using his comm like that. 

Crys chuckled as he dismantled the mainframe from the machine. “I remember being a shiny like you,” he sounded amused and Cipher’s previous blush came back with a vengeance. “I figured out how to do most of this,” he gestured to the mainframe, “Mid blaster fire.” Or this particular trick on Jabiim. “A slicer tends to learn new tricks pretty fast when there’s a fairly good chance you’ll die otherwise.” He finished with a grunt and pulled a black box out. He tilted it a little, studying the box from all sides before nodding. “Well that’s one relief.”

“What is?” he asked, feeling like he was a snot-nosed cadet on Kamino again and had just gotten a question wrong. It was more than a little embarrassing. He wasn’t a cadet anymore, he was part of a spec ops unit. He couldn’t afford to make elementary mistakes like he seemed to be consistently making on this mission, and he was getting tired of the non-answers real fast. 

His question made the older clone startled a little, “Forgot about you,” he muttered sheepishly and then showed the black box to him. “I was a little worried that the mainframe was damaged in the attack,” he explained, “But it looks like the reason the vid was glitching was the cold.” He pushed himself up with one hand and continued, “That’s something we can easily fix at our base.”

“No time to waste then,” Cipher replied and got up, slightly mollified but still wanting an answer to his original question. “Maybe you can show me that trick with the comm later?” 

Crys snickered a little to himself. Such a shiny, he thought fondly, tapping a finger against the box. Always rushing in and demanding everything. He grinned under his helmet; he was like that too until General Kenobi taught him how to wait. His vod’ika’s impatience was more endearing than annoying than when his own paint was still new. “I can do one better,” he offered, “I’ll show you how to hook up a new comm to act as a generator with _ out _ utterly destroying it.” Not that Crys cared about destroying the old comm. That ratty dinged thing should have been chucked out into the airlock yesterday. Crys was doing the slicer a favor by destroying it. 

_ “What?” _ Cipher’s jaw dropped. “I mean- yeah, great! Let’s get this thing back to base.” Crys nearly laughed out loud at how Cipher all but ran towards the exit, slipping a little on a patch of ice. He grinned,  _ shinies _ .

000

Cas was glad to be out of that base. The carnage had brought back too many memories that he’d rather forget. Not his batchmates- no, he had vowed to always remember them. Quickshot had a quick wit and equally quick willingness to laugh at himself. Diva knew every bit of gossip, and spent far too many hours trying to find the best and most popular styles. And Gregor, who'd listened to every bit of music he could get his hands on. The captain of their squad- and his best friend. Much like Waxer and Boil, they’d done everything together, to the point where everyone had joked that they were twins. 

He’d spent most of his time off after trying to drink his problems away, pit fighting in the lower levels, and often waking up in unfamiliar places with no memory of what had happened. He even had a hazy memory of throwing up on Cody once. He hadn't been certain it was real after he woke up, and quite frankly, he’d been afraid to ask. But it had definitely been Cody who tore him a new one after a Coruscant Guard had found him nearly comatose on the floor of 79’s from alcohol poisoning. And rightfully so, but Cas hadn’t wanted to hear it, so he’d shouted all sorts of horrible things at the Marshal Commander, things that still made him cringe to remember. That Cody was a mindless indoctrinated tool, all the brothers he had lost died for nothing, he was deluding himself if he believed that General Kenobi cared about the 212th, he didn’t matter, none of them mattered anyway, they were made to die, so what did it matter if Cas sped the process up a little?

Cody had stood silently through his whole tirade, and then said something he would never forget. “ _ Ni su'cuyi, gar kyr'adyc, ni partayli, gar darasuum.” _ I'm still alive, but you are dead. I remember you, so you are eternal.

He still hadn’t wanted the assignment to Commander Charr and Blackstar Squad. He didn’t like Commander Charr (Which he could now admit was just as much his fault as hers- he hadn't liked anybody at that point, and he was snappy and surly and generally unpleasant to be around. Really, it was a wonder none of the 212th had chucked him out the airlock.), and he hadn’t wanted to get close to another team. But they’d wormed their way into his heart anyway, and gave his life meaning again. The assignment had saved his life, and helped him remember who he was supposed to be.

No, he never wanted to forget them. He still wore his Foxtrot tattoo with pride, with their names added around it. He just didn’t like to remember how they’d died.

“This should be good to go,” he told Cody and activated the final sensor. “Whatever those things are, they won’t catch us off guard again.”

“If they come back,” Cody muttered darkly, his anger still simmering underneath his skin. The Commander half hoped that the natives would come back for another round. Cody would love to introduce them to the sharp end of his vibro blade and DC-17. 

The raging winds around them picked up, whipping ice and snow all around. If not for their winter armor and genetically enhanced bodies Cody knew they’d be in trouble. Even still he could feel the planet’s frigid temperature creeping over his armored skin. “We should head back,” he changed topics, “This storm’s getting worse by the second.” 

Cas nodded and activated his comm. “All units, return to base.”

“Has General Brodi contacted you yet?” Cody realized that it was a redundant question, having been with the commando the entire time but as the blizzard picked up and the skies grew darker he was getting worried. The longer it took the Jedi to find the survivors the less likely he’d find them alive. He could only hope that his General was right when he said that Brodi was the best chance they had. 

“No, he hasn’t,” Cas said anyway, his worry clear in his tone. This debacle was shaping up to be another Sarrish. He started the speeder. “Maybe someone at the base knows something.” 

000

“I don’t like this,” Kix muttered to himself as he and Patch finished setting up the medbay. Thankfully it hadn’t been too destroyed by whatever attacked them. “Even with their armor there’s still a good chance of them not making it. Not to mention that General Brodi doesn’t even know where to find them.”

Patch placed away a few bandages and looked over at the older medic. “He’s a first class tracker. Comman–  _ General _ Brodi knows what he’s doing, Kix.” Patch winced at the slip up. Logically he knew that Brodi was now a General but it was really hard to think of him as one when Patch clearly remembered the Jedi hanging off of Commander Wolffe’s every word whenever the Wolfpack Leader visited with General Koon or forgetting to check in on time because he was having too much fun playing Sabacc with the other Guards and was chewed out by his Master. Or the time he and Commander Fox thought it would be hilarious to repaint everyone’s armor from crimson red to a hideous shade of green,  _ ‘cuz it matched Kup’s eyes’ _ . 

And the GAR said Fox was an emotionless kriffer. Clearly they’ve never heard the man’s one liners. Or, Patch thought and absently rubbed his arm from phantom pain, seen him crack terrible puns while shooting the others in training. He still felt that last shot, the pain of his parting comment, ‘Jumping the blaster and hitting the red target,’ much worse after Patch and Stitches accidentally shot each other during that. Or Brodi’s joke about it later. Patch preferred to pretend that it never happened. 

Kix picked up on the slip up and turned fully to face him. “Commander?” Patch could practically feel the clone’s curiosity in the air. 

Patch blushed and looked away. Dammit, why couldn’t the Kaminoans have engineered them to be better liars? Or at least make them not incorrectly call their superiors by the wrong rank so he didn’t have to explain that yes, he was a Coruscant Guard and no, he wasn’t weak or done anything wrong to be transferred? “I knew the General when he was still a Commander,” he began. “We uh, worked together once or twice.”

There, that should make Kix happy and leave him alone so that he could anxiously worry about Brodi and the survivors making it out alive on a winter planet in the midst of a terrible blizzard in peace. 

Unfortunately for him Kix was a true through and through 501st member. Which meant that they didn’t stop until dead and/or had gotten what they wanted. “You were a Guard then?” No trace of disappointment or disgust, “What’s General Brodi like?” He took off his helmet and gave him an expectant look. 

_ I will not cave, I will not cave, I will not cave, I will not– _ “Loud,” he caved into the look. “And fun-loving. He once put blue glitter into our helmets as a prank.” Kix choked on air. “It took  _ weeks  _ to get that mess straightened out. I thought Commander Fox was going to murder him.” And he and Stitches would have gladly helped hide the body. “I did a few rotations on the Citadel.”

“The prison planet? I thought that it’s under Separatist control.” Kix interrupted with a frown. 

“...Not at the beginning of the war.” Patch rubbed his eye. “It was originally a Republic prison. Used to house the worst of the offenders, the ones even Coruscant Supermax couldn’t contain.”

Kix pursed his lips and tilted his head thoughtfully, re-evaluating the younger medic in front of him. “Huh,” he finally said and switched topics, “How good is General Brodi? You seem to trust him a lot.”

“Well, he did save my life during a prison riot once.” That got Kix’s attention and he looked interested. “Protocol states that guards inside the prison aren’t allowed to carry weapons so we can reduce the possibility of a prisoner getting one and trying to escape. Even Jedi aren’t exempt. Then some stupid shiny who thought he was above the rules started his shift with a blaster. Three guesses what happened.” He laughed bitterly and touched his chest. “An inch to the left and I wouldn’t be here to tell this story. Five men died, three of us were evacuated to a medstation, and four others,”  _ cowards all of them _ , “Requested transfers.”

A noise of encouragement came from Kix’s throat and he nodded to continue, “What happened?” Despite himself, Kix was thoroughly engrossed with the story. He didn’t normally like Coruscant Guards, the whole lot of them were arrogant kriffers, not really knowing what it was like to fight to survive from their cushy babysitting jobs but Kix didn’t know that the Guards were also stationed on other planets. Planets like the hellish landscapes like the Citadel. It made him wonder what else he didn’t know about the boys in red. 

“My shift had just ended,” Patch began to explain and all around him the medbay’s bright lights darkened and flickered. The medbay in the prison was old and cramped, something he, Stitches, Bones and Two Guns always bitched about. “I was leaving the medbay to get some food when the siren blared.” Patch swore he heard the loud warning whines in his ears and his heart picked up pace. The dim windy hallway he was in had begun flashing with red lights and the staticy voice of Cloud crackled through his comm. “One of the prisoners, Rowrra I think, had killed his guards and stolen the blaster and freed his gang.” 

Kix nodded and tried to imagine what the younger vod was saying. Something in him told him that he was nowhere close.

“Commander Fox and his squad had found most of them fairly quickly,” Patch continued and didn’t mention that Commander Fox and his squad had merely killed the criminals instead of recapturing them. “Rowrra and one other were still on the loose and Boo couldn’t find them.” He looked down at his chest plate, “I found them by accident and was shot,” he tapped where he was shot at, “Thought I was a goner for sure when Commander,  _ General _ Brodi caught up to them and took them down.” And Patch wished he was more conscious then, Brodi’s fight had been entirely one sided and vicious. Patch laughed again, “Neither Wookies stood a chance against him. Weaponless or not I learned a valuable lesson that day. Don’t ever kark with a Jedi.” 

“And he was only a Padawan?” Patch nodded. Kix whistled lowly trying to imagine that. “Wow. Never would have guessed.”

“Guessed what?” Both medics jumped at the new voice and turned to the doorway to see Captain Rex, helmet at his side, and looked at them with a bemused expression. 

Kix smirked at him, “Cuun Ia'arate cuyir a nitcaru jinamte,” he lazily informed him while Patch snapped to attention.

Rex glanced sideways at him. “At ease,” he reassured him and looked interested. “Really now?” He glanced at Kix. 

Patch relaxed. “Have you heard from General Brodi? Did he bring the survivors? How many were there?”

Rex’s good mood vanished at the barrage of questions and Patch winced. He didn’t mean to be noisy or anger the captain! “Haven’t heard anything from General Brodi yet,” he said after a pause, now frowning. 

Patch’s anxiety threatened to choke him. For once, he didn’t need to worry about his current Commander—she was in the base with General Kenobi and the others. His former commander was making up for that tenfold, running out in deadly cold temperatures without backup. Why couldn’t Commander Fox join the 501st when General Brodi did? At least he could keep up with the Jedi...

“Commander Brodi...” he whimpered out as he suddenly thought about Commander Fox’s reaction when he learned about Brodi’s latest stunt. And that was just the Warden’s. Patch was terrified to think about Commander Wolffe and the others. 

If the weather didn’t kill the kid then  _ they _ would. 

Rex and Kix shared a confused look with one another.  _ Shinies _ .

  
  


000

Jacen slowly trekked through knee deep snow as he focused on the dim life signatures. He was close, he could feel it in his bones. 

_ “There’s a whole fleet of them!” Cloud’s shout was the only warning as hundreds of battle droids swarmed their prison.  _

_ “Retreat!” Fox’s bark sliced through the air as he grabbed a younger Jacen. Pulling him away from a blaster bolt to the chest.  _

_ The air became filled with screams as death hung heavily in the Force. Jacen looked around wildly. Where were the others? Where was Kup? _

The ground slowly became more rocky than snowy as Jacen neared a large cavern deep within the valley. 

Then he heard it. Low growls and grunts that were nearly swept away by the howling wind. Three semi familiar signatures flickered in the Force as five unfamiliar ones surrounded them. Jacen crept slowly to the mouth of the cavern, plastering himself flatly against the icy rock and peeked in. 

Five large white beings with pointy spears huddled around a large bonfire talking among themselves as three battered looking clones rested against the far wall from them. The clones’ life forces were dangerously faint and only one of them was still conscious by the look of things. Jacen needed to get them back to the base, immediately. But if he attacked the kidnappers head on there was too much of a risk that they’d kill the men. And by judging their snow colored hair it was far too stupid to lure them outside and take them. He wanted to curse. This wasn’t good.

Well, looks like the stupid way was the way to go. Foxer was gonna kill him after he got back. He looked around for some type of advantage and smirked. Maybe this wasn’t going to be entirely stupid. 

000

Chairman Cho paced back and forth in front of the entrance. “This is absurd. We came here to claim this moon for Pantora, and now we’re stuck in a ruined base while General Brodi is on a wild mynock chase!” 

All around him the clones bristled, their anger like stinging shards in the Force. 

“Maybe you should go out and reclaim this tahla'ada planet,” Fives whispered to Echo over their comms. His trigger finger twitched a little. 

“Fives!” His batchmate sharply hissed at him. Worried that the sour Pantoran would magically hear him despite talking through a private line. 

Fives scowled and subtly made a rude gesture to him. He might not like his new General, no one could  _ ever _ replace General Skywalker, but at least Brodi had his priorities straight. “This besom doesn’t even care that cunn vod’e could die!” 

“You still can’t just say stuff like that! What if one of the Pantorans overhears you?” He quickly glanced at Cho’s group again with worry. 

Not that it was very likely, Echo was forced to give, as Cho acted like the other members of the 501st didn’t exist. The Chairman was making gestures with his hands and his voice carried over. 

“When the others get back I will order them to give up on their insignificant mission and focus on what truly is important!” Fives’ finger spasmed and Echo swore he heard his batchmate’s growl despite not being on the comm. 

Thankfully, or perhaps to Echo’s disappointment, General Kenobi and the others returned. Chairman Cho stormed up to General Kenobi, all but shoving Commander Cody out of his path, and loomed over the ginger. “General Kenobi have you found anything useful?” He demanded. 

Commander Cody, who was near unflappable and never got angry, looked ready to shoot the man. General Kenobi continued to look calm as Commander Charr slinked up next to him with an unimpressed look. “It seems,” General Kenobi said with a steady voice, “That we’ve stumbled onto an inhabited planet.”

“Impossible!” Cho sputtered. “We’ve never found signs of any life forms on this moon!”

“The evidence states otherwise, Chairman,” General Kenobi rebuked politely, “Everything from the way our base was attacked to the footage from the destroyed Separatist base indicates that there are beings living here.” He stroked his beard, “Our presence must have spooked them into attacking us.” 

“From the hairs we found it is very likely that the natives are naturally camouflaged, allowing them to blend into the snowy landscape and be hidden from explorers,” Commander Charr pitched in her thoughts. “It would also explain how our troops and the droids were caught off guard.”

Cho looked ready to explode, his face purple from rage. “Our people have studied this moon for centuries!” He roared out, “If they haven’t found anything back then then there is no possible way for  _ natives  _ to be here now! These... these trespassers are invading sovereign Pantora territory and will be dealt with!” 

“Chairman,” Senator Chuchi meekly spoke up, her body hunched into herself and eyes looking at her feet. “If what the Jedi say are true, then it will be up to the Senate to decide what to do.” 

Cho’s face darkened. “Do you stand against your Chairman, Senator?” he snarled and Chuchi took a step back in fear. “Look around! You’ve seen what they’ve done! These things are savages! And like savages they will be put down!” He sneered over at the Jedi, “I order you to stop General Brodi’s  _ rescue _ ,” he spat out the word like a curse, “And find these animals and wipe them out!”

Cas’s trigger finger twitched. Watching the Chairman use their losses as a tool to bully someone and then try to  _ order  _ the Jedi to stop General Brodi’s search for survivors was more than he could take. He stormed off before he could give in to the temptation of throttling the Pantoran. Ava watched him go with a concerned gaze but knew better than to stop him. She would talk to him later, after he’d had a chance to cool off. 

General Kenobi didn’t even flinch and he stared back at the arrogant besom with a blank face. “Our job here was to make sure that the Separatists were not planning an attack against your people, Chairman. They are not because the natives have dealt with them. Now we will see if we can rescue the survivors and allow the senate to decide their fate.” 

Cas stalked down the empty halls towards the medbay. If anyone would leave him the kark alone right now it would be Patch. If anybody asked him to do anything, he was going to snap. 

“And then Commander Tano said, ‘Stop calling me that! You’re stuck with me, Skyguy,’” Rex said, body shaking a little from quiet laughter. General Skywalker’s scandalized face would be forever burned into his memory. 

Patch openly laughed as Kix snickered, “No way!” He gasped out, “One time General Brodi was... Cas?” He cut himself off from his story about giving Commander Wolffe a bone after finishing a mission with him when Cas stormed in looking like he was about to kill someone with his bare hands. 

Rex raised an eyebrow, sensing the good mood switch into a murderous one. “Cuyir slanar bat?” He demanded, as his hands crept down to his blasters. 

Cas tried breathing like Commander Charr had taught him to get the red haze to recede from his vision. No such luck. And why did there have to be other people there? “I’m gonna murder that bastard,” he growled, “If Cody doesn’t shoot him first.”

Ahh, so that was the problem. “What did he do this time?” Rex sighed out tiredly. There was a reason he retreated to the medbay after spending fifteen minutes with the annoying chairman and not because he was injured. He had already ordered Jesse to go into the hangar after listening to the man’s rant about wasting resources in rescuing the survivors. A subtle death was not something the man could do. 

“More like what he  _ didn’t  _ do,” Cas snapped. “The chairman, in all his wisdom, said that General Brodi was on a wild mynock chase. And then when the Jedi told him there were native life forms on this planet, he demanded that we slaughter them like dogs! He wants General Brodi to stop his  _ pathetic  _ attempt to save our  _ brothers _ and-”

The comm General Brodi gave him beeped. Cas stared dumbly at it for a moment before scrambling to answer. “General Bro–?”

“Oi got dem,” Brodi’s voice was steady as he cut Cas off. “There’s tree av dem an' none av dem are in gran' condishun but they’re alive.” There was a tone of wonder in the Jedi’s voice as he relayed the information. 

Kix snatched the comm. “Any sign of brain injuries? Dilated pupils, fluids leaking from the nose, mouth, ears, or eyes, slurred speech, nausea or vomiting?

“Do oi luk loike a medic, Kamanchee? Oi got two unconshioush an' wan barely awake. Al' av dem are as cowl as feck but we got a fire nigh.” Brodi snapped to Kix. “Git me locashun from de comm an' send someone ter peck us up. They’re not gonna make it dat much longer,” there was worry now. 

Kix gritted his teeth. He’d have a better idea of how to treat them if General Brodi could be bothered to get off his high horse to check for symptoms that he’d  _ clearly described.  _ “Sir, I can give the General your location, but the storm is too severe right now to send anyone out.”

“Feck you’re as useful as a drunk sniper,” Brodi sniped out, clearly annoyed and Patch winced. Brodi only got pissy when he was trying to not show how scared he was. “Gran' so, we’ll 'owl oyt 'ere as long as we can. I’ve spooked away de natives for de meantime. Yer lot 'av fin bein' warm an' safe. I’ll comm in later.” And like that the transmission ended. 

“Typical,” Rex scoffed, not happy with his General. He missed General Skywalker. At least he cared about his men. 

Patch scratched his eye, “That’s not good,” he muttered lowly. At the looks he received he lowered his hand and explained, “General Brodi had some training in field patch up,” something that Stitches had taught him, “And he only gets like this,” he gestured to the comm, “When he’s worried.” Something that he had seen firsthand when General Koon had to tell him that Commander Wolffe was badly injured. Brodi had been inconsolable for days, snapping at everyone and everything. Not even Commander Fox could calm him down. And Commander Fox could get Brodi to do anything. 

Cas glanced sideways at him. "How do you know General Brodi so well?"

_ Why did everyone have to ask that _ , Patch thought exasperated, “Former Guard. Worked with him a few times,” he answered in short sentences. “That’s not important right now though; we need to get this to General Kenobi and Commander Charr.” 

"Right." Cas took the comm. "Let's go."

000

Grunts and whines filled the air and the planet slowly began to come back into view. CC-1119’s eyes fluttered open as the black spots behind his eyelids faded and the nauseating dizziness turned into pain. He hissed a little as he sluggishly tried to shift his numb body and racked his brain. 

...where was he? 

_ Orto Plutonia _ his mind supplies helpfully,  _ you were sent here to oversee Valhalla base to help give you experience as a PiC before shipping out to a battalion as a Commander. _ Then why was he in a cave and his body sore all over? 

Growls and grunts made him look over to see large hairy beings huddled by a fire.  _ Right _ . They were attacked. He coughed a little and tried to push himself up more when he noticed two other clones, Hardcase and Charger, passed out next to him. He winced in pain as he struggled to come up with a plan to escape. 

The fire cracked and snapped as the wind howled outside. 

A sharp whistle cut through the attackers’ conversation and the beings grabbed their spears. The whistle repeated again, much louder and one of the beings walked out to the opening. It turned out to be a mistake as the hairy person suddenly jerked upwards and out of sight. There was a roar that cut off midway. 

The other four kriffers jumped into action and ran out. All of them alert and ready to attack. Another one suddenly was dragged to the left sharply, screaming all the way until it disappeared into the snow. The largest being, the leader, barked out something to the two others and all three of them stood back to back. 

_ Ba dum ba dum ba dum _

Swoosh! The attacker on the right grunted in pain as a boot connected with its face. The leader’s spear was cut in half as the final one was thrown into the rocky wall. CC-1119’s eyes widened as the man... Jedi, used the momentum of the kick to back flip, dodging a spear to his face, flicking his wrist to make his yellow lightsaber slice through the wood. The Jedi landed in a crouch, raising his saber to the hairy beings. The beings looked at him then each other then back at him. They ran. 

The Jedi stood up and watched them retreat before shaking his head. He walked into the cave to him and knelt down, pulling his blue hood down to reveal black goggles and a face mask. A gloved hand pulled the goggles up and worried red eyes met pain filled brown. 

“Yer aigh trooper?” The Jedi asked, voice muffled by the cloth. CC-1119 would have jerked at the harsh accent the Jedi had if it didn’t make him want to puke from pain. “‘M Jacen, yer safe fer nigh.” He placed a hand on his shoulder and CC-1119 swore he could feel the warmth despite his armor. 

“Wha’ about th’ others?” he slurred, turning to Hardcase and Charger, instantly regretting it when a new spike of pain shot through his head.

The Jedi’s, General Jacen’s eyes followed. “They fale gran', jist unconscious roi now. Yer seem ter be de worst aff but don’t worry! De others shud cum git us soon.” General Jacen’s eyes softened and he rubbed his shoulder, “Everything’s gonna be okay.”

000

After several more minutes of Master Obi-Wan and Chairman Cho staring down one another the politician snapped. “As a Jedi, you are subject to the authority of the Senate. Which means you and Commander Charr are legally bound to obey my orders!”

“Sir!” All heads snapped around to see Cas, Rex, Kix and Patch jogging up to them. “General Brodi just contacted us,” Cas told them. 

“Is he alright?” Ava asked. “Did he find any survivors?” She realized it was a dumb question after it left her mouth, but she was worried. He’d been alone on a freezing planet without any cold weather gear. If it wasn’t for the blasted wind, she could have gone out to search for them hours ago. As much as she hated to admit it, her friend was their only option for a rescue. 

“Yessir. All three of them,” Cas replied. “They’re staying warm as best they can while they wait for the storm to calm down enough to find them.” He decided to leave out the insults Brodi had lobbed at them.

“That’s a relief,” Master Obi-Wan sighed out, looking happy, “I was beginning to get worried. If he had taken any longer I would have ordered him to return.” And while he didn’t like the idea of leaving men behind, the longer the men the General took the more likely he would become lost as well. The ginger turned to his Commander, “Cody get a gunship ready, the moment the wind dies down we’re going to collect our lost men.” 

Cody looked only too happy to follow that order. It was, Ava decided, a toss up between saving the clones or getting to be away from Cho that was the cause. 

Ava worried her lip, “Did Jacen say anything else to you?”

Cas thought back to the insults thrown at them, debated in telling them before shaking his head. “No sir,” he lied. 

“Then all we can do is wait,” Master Obi-Wan said, glancing towards the entrance. 

000

“Don’t be falling asleep on me now, trooper,” General Jacen shook him as gently as he could. “Yer in no condishun ta be snoozin’.”

CC-1119 jolted, he didn’t realize that he was falling asleep. Nor did he realize, he noted with mortification, that the General had all but placed him onto his lap. General Jacen continued, oblivious to his embarrassment, “Oi put de other two into a trance so they wouldn’t jostle raun. Feelin' gran' or not, dare not a call ter risk things further,” he explained as a gloved hand rubbed his shoulder soothingly. 

"How long have we been out here?" he croaked. Between the gap after being captured and waking up in that cave, then falling asleep on a Jedi, his internal clock was completely shot.

“Whaen wus de last time yer checked in?” General Jacen asked as he shifted him a little. CC-1119 didn’t really blame him. His armor was probably not at all comfortable. 

He closed his eyes and tried to think back. Last time he checked in was… was…

_ Furry beings with sharp spears appearing out of thin air. Grunts and screams. Blood spraying his visor. A clawed hand smacking him in the chest, slamming him into the wall- _

He didn't realize he was shaking until General Jacen brought him back to reality. “‘ey 'ey, you’re gran' so. You’re wi' me an' not wherever yer were,” he murmured comfortingly and ran a hand through his hair in reassurance. 

"S-s-seventeen hours," he managed through chattering teeth.

The General hummed thoughtfully, “Aboyt a day or so den. Me tren an' oi were sent oyt ter find yer.” He smiled a little, "Found yer.”

"You did." There was a period of silence before-

“Yer got a name?” The Jedi asked, clearly not comfortable with the quiet. 

"A name?” CC-1119 repeated, confused. Maybe he hit his head harder than he thought. “My designation is CC-1119.” 

General Jacen made a noise of distress in the back of his throat. “Dat’s a number, not a name.” 

He managed a lopsided shrug and immediately regretted it. "Don't need one."

“Everyone needs wan!” He protested, “Yer gotta ‘ave wan!”

"Why? We're clones. Numbers are an efficient method of distinguishing us."

“That’s a feckin fib an' we al' nu it. Everyone on yer is different. Be it memories, feelings, opinions. Naw two people are de seem. Not ter me, an' sure as 'ell not in de Force,” the Jedi passionately argued. 

Now he was sure he'd hit his head. "What do you mean, 'in the Force'?"

“Tink av it dis way,” the Jedi began after a moment of thoughtful silence, “Yer nu 'oy on lashings av planets there’s grass? It’s de seem plant, roi? But each blade av grass is different. It’s grass from a far away luk but up close every single piece is different. Yer an' yisser brothers are loike grass. Looks similar, yeah but different.”

"So I’m grass,” CC-1119 repeated flatly. Was this how all Jedi were like? 

General Jacen winced, “Or a snowflake if dat make mur sense. But the point is, yer fale different, everyone av yer.”

He tried to picture that, but it hurt his brain to think about. "Alright."

“So therefore yer nade ter 'av a name,” the Jedi concluded triumphantly. He gave him an expectant look.

He waited for General Jacen to say something else, but he just kept looking at him. Was he expecting him to come up with one on the spot? "I don’t have a name."

The man wilted at that, “Dat’s fine,” he hastily assured, “Weel find wan fer yer.” 

He really wasn't going to let this go, was he? “We?”

He raised an eyebrow, “Well oi can’t let yer go withoyt wan an' yer can’t sleep jist yet,” he said reasonably. 

"But I don't need one," he repeated. Maybe the Jedi didn't hear him the first time.

“Oy aboyt Snow?” General Jacen ignored him. “Or Jimmy? Luke? Wait naw, too blonde... Dex? naw, that’s taken... 'mmmm...” he trailed off and CC-1119 had a sinking feeling. He clicked his tongue in thought. “Lin... naw, he keeled tree people... Myn... assault. Jaster...” he winced at that, “Keeled ‘is wifey and two children....”

"These are real people?" CC-1119 asked.

That snapped the man out of his musings and he blushed sheepishly. “Aye... Except dat they’re al' criminals. Almost every name reminds me of some crime that I stopped.”

"You catch criminals?” he asked curiously; he didn't know Jedi did that.

“Used ter; nigh I’m de General av de foive ah first,” he looked embarrassed about that. “Ran a prison before.”

"The one on Coruscant?"

“Sumthin’ lioke dat,' General Jacen warily agreed, “But day’s nawt important. Yer need a name.”

The General was like a dog with a bone. " _ No,"  _ he finally snapped, frustrated by his stubborn refusal to change the topic of conversation. "I'm not important. I'm just another clone."

“Everyone’s important ter someone,” General Jacen quietly stated, “And yer important ter me.”

CC-1119 stared at him. "I am?" he asked wonderingly. 

General Jacen smiled and gave him a keldabe kiss, “Course,” he said it so simply, like it was the easiest thing in the galaxy. Like he wasn’t destroying CC-1119’s core beliefs with his declaration. 

He shook his head. "I don't get it," he admitted, retreating back into his safely defined world. Where he knew what he was, what he was built to do, and how he would end. Where he didn't have to think abstractly or about the future. Where it didn’t matter how many others died, because they were just manufactured goods. CC-1119 had the feeling he was at the edge of a precipice, and stepping over it would change everything. "I don't have a name." It was important that General Jacen understood this.

“Bidh sinn a ’sabaid na h-aon bhataichean, a’ roinn an aon bhiadh agus a ’bàsachadh mar dhaoine co-ionann. Tha sinn nar bràithrean ann an teaghlach nas motha, fear far nach eil fuil agus inbhe gu diofar,” General Jacen recited dutifully, slowly pronouncing each word with meaning. “Oi might not 'av been born witcha, or 'av been raised witcha but oi fight witcha an' die for yer. We are brothers,” he intoned, “Of course Oi care about yer.”

CC-1119 stood at the edge of the precipice, torn between two worlds. One where he knew what he was, what he was built to do, and how he would end. The other uncertain, but where he could be something… more.

CC-1119 took the plunge. "I… care about you too." Emboldened,  _ rebellious _ , he added, "I want a name."

“Weel get yer wan,” General Jacen grinned.

000

Cas couldn't sleep that night. He roamed the halls, checked the sensor data, cleaned and reassembled his DC-17m, and did a hundred one-armed pushups. Only forty-five minutes had passed. He groaned. It was going to be a long night.

“You should be sleeping,” Commander Charr commented lightly and he jumped a little. 

He startled for a second before he saluted automatically, “Sir!” 

Commander Charr glanced sideways at him and waved him to relax. "Are you alright, Cas? You have been acting… off, lately."

Was she talking about earlier? Cas struck with a flash of fear that he was going to be disciplined. He shook his head, Commander Charr might be an awkward and overly formal being, but she wasn’t needlessly cruel. “It’s nothing sir,” he said hollowly. He didn’t need to unload all of his worries and fears onto his commanding officer. 

"It was not easy for me, either. Seeing what happened," Commander Charr admitted and Cas raised an eyebrow. Karking Jedi and their karking riddles. Commander Charr looked at him with eyes that pierced right through him. She sighed and rubbed her temples. "What I mean is, I do not blame you for becoming upset. And if you are not comfortable talking to me about it, then you should talk to someone with whom you are."

Cas blinked. In his worry about the survivors he had almost forgotten about Cho’s earlier actions. He licked his lips and looked down at his hands. “I’m used to it... to how he acted...” he paused for a second, searching for the right words, “Chairman Cho,” he elaborated, “How he acted is how most beings act to us,” he gestured to himself. “It’s just...” he had gotten used to being treated as a human being and not a mindless flesh droid, “It’s nothing,” he dismissed, not wanting to make an issue of something not important. He had gotten complacent and now was paying for it. 

"It seems like it is if you are still awake,” his Jedi pointed out much nicer than one of his brothers would have. 

But she had the same stubbornness they had sadly and Cas suppressed the urge to scream, “It’s not,” he denied quickly, “I’m not bothered by it.” 

Commander Charr opened her mouth to argue but then closed it. She stared at him with too knowing eyes and then nodded her head. Cas didn’t know if he felt grateful or annoyed. “Then what is it that keeps you up so late?” She asked. 

What  _ didn’t  _ keep him up? Cas snorted at that and shook his head again, he liked Charr but not nearly enough to share his fears. Not yet. “Too wired,” he lied, “And someone has to keep watch and make sure General Brodi doesn’t update us with bad news.”

“Jacen is certainly adept with finding unneeded trouble,” she responded dryly, “But he is also able to get out of it just as easily.” She studied him for a moment, “I do not believe it is him that has you up, Captain.”

Damn Jetti and their insightfulness. Commander Charr nailed his worries like an ARC hitting their target. “General Brodi was worried about them,” he finally admitted. 

“He yelled at you then,” Commander Charr noted, “Did he call you an idiot as well?” He startled again and her lips upturned briefly, “Jacen insults everyone when he is upset, an unfortunate personality trait of his, I am afraid. You should not take it personally."

“Patch said he was scared.” And that was the crux of the matter. From what little he had seen of the man (and had heard about from Patch), the General didn’t get scared. 

She nodded as if that cleared everything up. "I will not lie and say there is no chance of the worst happening. But he would have commed if it was as bad as you fear."

And suddenly the comm burst to life. “This is CC-1119,” a frantic voice whispered, “We’re under attack!” In the background muffled growls and snarls could be heard, “General Jacen is doing the best he can to force them back but he’s outmanned. We need back up, stat!”

"Are you still at the same location?" Commander Charr asked.

“I don’t know,” the clone answered panicky, “We’re in a cave but—  _ GENERAL! _ ”

"What is going on?” No response. “Trooper?" Nothing. “Trooper!”

"Get Master Kenobi," she ordered, back to business. "The winds have died down enough for us to leave."

000

“Whaich ended whaen Foxer came in an' shot Denal in de foot,” the Jedi finished with a snicker as he concluded his story about the dumbest criminal he ever caught. “He didn’t even nade ter,” he added, body shaking. 

CC-1119 laughed alongside him. Honestly, trying to steal a statue of former Chancellor Valorum from the Senate? Their laughter trailed off in amendable silence and General Jacen quietly got up and checked over Hardcase and Charger. Placing a now gloveless hand to their temples before checking their pulse. 

“Looks loike de storm’s jist aboyt ter end. Let’s jist 'ope dohs idiots can fend us nigh,” he cheerfully informed him. “At laest back wi' de Guards they gone things done quickly,” he said to himself, his mouth twisting into a frown. 

"Who's your favorite criminal?" CC-1119 asked, now curious about that and not linking the mood change. 

“Hmm?” His, and yes,  _ his _ , Jedi blinked at that and tilted his head. “Jynz Appo,” he decided, “A clever current son av a gundark yer paddy wus. The man wus a thief, a damn good wan, an' stole tons av shoite. An’ de worst part av it al' wus dat Appo never lef any evidence so it wus near impossable ter arrest 'imself.” He waved his hands around as he spoke, face lighting up with interest. “Oi learned a lot frem ‘im tho,” he admitted. 

“He taught you?”

“Aye,” his General nodded happily, “Appo was a weord wan. Stole from arrogant arseholes an' donated almost everythin' he stole ter shelters. yer man got away a while ago but yer man wus me favorite.” He looked wistful, “Clever and caring dat man. Miss ‘im sometimes.”

CC-1119 opened his mouth to say something when a growl tore through the amiable silence. His eyes widened. He recognized that growl, “They’re back,” he breathed out and his Jedi cursed. 

He jumped to his feet, pulled his face mask back up and slid the goggles back on. “I’ll 'owl dem aff, contact de others an' tell dem ter git their thumbs oyt av their arses an' git 'ere,” he told him as he threw a small weird looking comm to him, “ _ Nigh _ .”

CC-1119 fumbled with the device for a moment, “Sir I can help,” he protested despite knowing he was in no condition to help fight. 

General Jacen unhooked his saber and tensed, “De others 'ill wake up once yer touch dem, git dem up an' move back as far as yer can, yer can help be keepin’ dem safe,” he ignited his yellow saber and ran out of the cave. CC-1119 watched helplessly for a second before moving into action. 

000

The once sleepy base was now a whirlwind of action as Cody barked out orders to the retrieving team of Ghost Company members. Next to him stood Rex, fingers brushing the blasters by his side and a worried looking Obi-Wan. 

All among the buzz and activity of both battalions Chairman Cho stomped out with a scowl. “What is going on!?” He demanded as a clone, Fives, “accidentally” bumped into him as he ran towards a gunship. 

“Chairman,” General Kenobi greeted, his voice easily carrying over the chaos, “General Brodi has seemed to have bitten off more than he could chew,” and despite how calm the Jedi sounded to both Rex and Cody knew that their Jedi was worried. 

“And so you go behind my back and risk our resources to leave in the middle of a snow storm?” The man challenged as his bodyguards walked up looking half awake. 

Rex was grateful that he was wearing his helmet, it hid his snarl from the man. Next to him, he could feel Cody bristle from rage. General Kenobi continued to be calm and Rex felt his respect rise for him. Anyone else he knew, mostly Skywalker and Tano, would have lost it then and torn the arrogant son of a spice dealer a new one. “The winds have died down enough for our gunships to safely make it to General Brodi, Chairman,” General Kenobi informed him, “If we don’t leave now then everything Jacen has risked will be for naught.” 

“I forbid you from going,” Cho growled out, “Since General Brodi was stupid enough to go out on his own he can solve whatever minor issues he caused on his own. We need to focus on destroying the savages.” He dismissed easily and more than one clone stopped in their tracks. 

_ The only savage here is you besom _ , Rex thought darkly as Cody placed his hand on his shoulder. Whether it was to stop his brother from shooting the man or stop himself from doing it was a fifty fifty toss up. 

“Unfortunately I have to disagree,” General Kenobi frowned, “And unfortunately as well, we’re out of time to argue about this.” He began walking to the gunship across from him where Commander Charr and Patch stood. 

“I will have your head for this, Kenobi!” Cho spat at his back, “Your Council will be hearing about this!” 

General Kenobi, in a rare fit of defiance, gave him a serene smile, “As a member of the High Council, I simply cannot wait for it.” He happily said as the door slid shut. 

000

Multitudes of curses left Jacen’s mouth as he rolled out of the way of another. Karking. Spear. 

Seriously, where were these hairy mother kriffers getting them?

One of them, and Jacen was ninety nine percent sure that it was one of the five from before, took advantage of his distracted state and thrusted his wooden weapon at him. Jacen grunted in pain as it pierced his jacket and scratched his skin.

Things were not looking good. With at least double the amount of blood thirsty natives surrounding him Jacen was pretty sure he was going to die. With his free hand he extended his palm to the being and pushed him away. And just like last time another native took its place and tried to kill him. 

Jacen was really sick of this game. He got away from an attack or pushed away his attacker and another one would take its place. Rinse and repeat about a hundred fekking times and that’s all that happened in this fight. And  _ Jacen _ was the one with the decency of not killing anyone. 

Where the hells were Obi-Wan and the others? He wanted to know so that he could punch whoever was delaying them in the face. He yelped in pain as the biggest native got the jump on him and tackled him into the snow, making him drop his saber. Large hairy hands were wrapped around his neck as Jacen struggled to breathe. 

_ Burning heat, whirling machinery, someone screaming, red haze.  _

His arms flailed wildly, trying to find his sword as black crept over his vision. No. No, he wasn’t going to suffocate. Jacen was a fighter, he wasn’t going to let that prick  _ Sobek— _

His hand found his saber and he gripped it tightly, bringing it to the native’s hairy white arm and turned it on. The being screamed in pain as it jerked back, clutching the stump that was his arm and Jacen threw him off, gasping for oxygen. 

He glared at the being hatefully and flicked his saber threateningly. That was it. He wasn’t going to leave a single survivor. The natives must have felt the shift or were now wary of him because they began to circle him cautiously. Each other waiting for the other to make a move. 

Surprisingly, it was neither of them that made the move. Three Republic gunships hovered over them, LED lights blinding them and Clones propelling themselves down on cables. Blaster bolts shortly filled the air and the natives decided to cut their loss and left. 

Ava jumped down and gracefully landed in a crouch. Obi-Wan next to her and his captain, Rex?, rushed up to him. The other 501st members, blue paint gave them away, their worry clear in the Force. Jacen snorted tiredly and deactivated his saber, stumbling a little as he met them halfway. Fighting for your life was tiring. “Yer sure tuk yisser sweet 'ole time. 'avin' craic paintin' yisser nails an' doin' each other’s 'air, ladies?” He asked half heartedly as the captain,  _ Cody _ he was now sure, steadied him. He glanced at the cave as he spoke. Clones,  _ medics _ , were helping CC-1119—who still needed a name— and the other two onto a gunship. 

“Patch.” Ava waved him over as he was handing one of the troopers off to someone on the ship. 

Jacen’s knees buckled as he gave up on his one sided fight to stay awake and Ava and the captain– no not Cody, Cas?– helped him sit down. 

Patch quickly unzipped Jacen’s blue parka and he batted him away with tired hands, “I’m grand. Jist scratched an' bruised. nathin' a night’s sleep won’t fix. Jist work on de others.” He ordered, voice slurring with his exhaustion. 

“The others are being helped, sir,” Patch assured him. “Just let me check you over.”

He rolled his eyes,  _ medics _ , “Not sayin' naw, jist sayin' dat I’m best wan aff roi nigh,” he deflected as his eyes fluttered shut. He blinked and shrugged the captain’s hand— Cas was Ava’s now that he thought about it, maybe Gregor— and stood up. “Yer can poke an' prod at me after oi sleep fer a hundred years.” 

Patch sighed; there was no point in arguing with his former Commander about this. At least, he thought with exasperated fondness, Brodi would do as he said and visit the medbay after sleeping. A rarity among the Jedi. “You will or else I’ll tell your brothers,” he threatened lightly as he let him go. 

That made the Jedi stiffen and look at him with wide startled eyes. “How do yer know dat Oi have brothers?” He demanded, now surprised and terrified, (Patch couldn’t blame him in the least, Fox and Wolffe were terrifying when in a mood) then angry. He continued to gawk at him before adding, “And don’t yer dare tell them!” As an afterthought. 

Patch raised an eyebrow behind his helmet. “My designation is CT-6208 but everyone calls me Patch. I was one of the base medics on Citadel for a while.” Brodi’s surprised look morphed into an interested one and he studied him closely but there was still no recognition. “I’m Stitches' batchmate,” he added helpfully and he made a noise. 

“Ah, the team players,” he recognized and Patch blushed. “I liked Stitches,” Brodi absently said and Patch took a step back like he was struck.  _ Liked _ , as in past tense. “He was fun.” 

“That he is,” Patch agreed warily, deciding to focus on how the Jedi phrased it later. “But my threat still stands sir,” he reminded him. 

“Aye, aye,  _ mum _ ,” Brodi snarked out as Rex trailed after him, hand back on his shoulder. 

000

The flight back to the base was smooth and Jacen nearly fell asleep on his new captain’s (Keeli?) shoulder three times and was jolted out of his trance when the gunship landed. “We’re ‘ere?” He slurred out, surprised at how short the ride was. It felt longer when he went originally. His captain (Boil?) helped steady him as he stumbled out of it. Out of the corner of his eyes he spotted the survivors on stretchers being carried out and towards the medbay area. He made a note to go there after a few hours of sleep and talk to them. 

He shook Captain Waxer(?)’s arm away and tiredly walked towards a place with a flat surface so he could fall onto it and pass out. Any flat surface would do at this point, just somewhere flat and relatively quiet. 

Unfortunately his plans were interrupted as Chairman Cho stormed up to them with an ugly sneer. “Finished gallivanting about, then?” 

Jacen could feel the anger of his men in the Force and he wondered what he had missed. “Oi guess so,” he agreed hesitantly. 

“I hope you had fun with your wild mynock chase,” he snapped, “Because I’ll see to it that you’re sanctioned by the Senate.”

“They're not as 'ard ter catch if yer nu waaat ter use,'' Jacen pointed out sleepily, “Jist need ter know waat ter do.” 

The Chairman looked like he was about to explode from rage. “You think this is a joke? You forced us to waste time and resources on this ridiculous rescue mission when we should have been focusing on the Separatist threat! Your Council and the Senate will be hearing of this and you will be punished!” 

_ “Ridiculous?”  _ Cas’ blood roared in his ears. He lunged forward to rip the arrogant Pantoran limb from limb. Prowl and Patch had to hold their captain back as he struggled and cursed. 

Jacen raised an eyebrow at the man, his tiredness tripled. See this was why he worked in prisons with Fox and the Guards and not babysit petty Senators. However Jacen was willing to make an exception in this one case, “In de Republic Military Act, article tonne an' fourteen secshun thirteen b prisoners av war must alwus be 'umanely treated. Any unlawful act or omission causin' death or seriously endangerin' de 'ealth av a prisoner av war is prohibited, an' constitutes a serious breach av de Republic-Mandalore convenshun,” he explained slowly to him like he would a young child. His eyes crinkled as he tilted his head, giving off the expression that he was smiling, “Seein' 'oy dohs natives ignored dem 'tis up ter de capture's leader ter decided if they 'ill respond wi' force. de leader, ergo me, decided dat it wus important ter fend dem. 'tis al' written down in de military act av de Reformashun era, sir.” 

If only Kup and Fox were here to see him be so mature. Not that either one would ever believe him if they were told. Or that Jacen would ever let them know, Fox would never let him hear the end of it. 

Ava blinked hard and pinched herself. No, this wasn’t a dream. Had her bratty best friend actually behaved like a mature and responsible adult? Was she in a different universe?

“So kindly shut yisser gob an' lemme sleep,” Jacen concluded and slowly marched off to somewhere the Chairman was not.

And just like that, the universe was back to normal.

That was the straw that broke the bantha’s back and Cho snarled and stole Rex’s blaster and tried to shoot Jacen’s back. Jacen, sensing the murderous attempt, whirled around as Rex all too happily tackled the man, making the shot miss by a long shot. “Get off of me!” Cho screamed as Rex pinned him to the cold ground and twisted his arm behind his back. “I will have you executed for this!” he swore at the clone and struggled. 

Jacen didn’t even look at the commotion as he continued walking. 

  
  


000

“...Bal gar malyasa'yr tengaanar etid l'eradr. Ni malyasa'yr jorhaa'ir at gar du'car ori'vod.” Kix was startled by the Mando’a as his new General finished his conversation to someone on his comm as he walked into the medbay. It was hard to tell from the face mask but Kix got the sense that the Jedi was smiling as he put it away and nodded to him and Patch. 

Kix raised a confused eyebrow as the General hopped onto an empty bed and kicked his feet a little. “Roi, I’m 'ere as promised. Poke an' prod me ter yisser 'eart’s content,” he commanded as he threw his blue parka, which had a startling huge tear, off and looked expectantly at them. 

“Sir...?” Kix asked, completely confused and began to walk over to him. Patch intercepted him and pulled him to the side. 

“We’ll be right with you sir,” Patch smiled tightly at the Jedi, “I just need to tell Kix something. Stay put and don’t. Touch. Anything.”

“What are you doing?” Kix whispered as Patch dragged him away from the Jedi. 

“Helping you,” Patch hissed under his breath, not wanting the General to hear, “I thought he’d sleep longer than two hours and I could tell you how to handle him!” 

Kix snuck a glance to the still sitting Jedi, who looked bored. “Okay and...?”

Patch took a deep breath, “Alright, General Brodi is going to be your most difficult patient ever,” he recited, like he was reading off a script, “He’ll come to you when he’s hurt but you have to get him to trust you if you want anything done. He’ll either dismiss his injuries as minor or argue that he can do it himself. Don’t let him.” He looked over Kix’s shoulder to make sure that the person in question wasn’t doing anything. “You have to make sure he knows that you’re in charge when he’s in the medbay or getting medical assistance. Also use Mando’a, it helps.”

Kix raised both eyebrows, “Really?”

“I don’t know!” Patch flailed, “Bones and Two Guns always took care of him on the Citadel. Stitches and I never had a chance to work with him.” He sucked in air and refocused, “Be quick and efficient and most importantly don’t spook him. You’ll never see him in the medbay again.” One of the survivors groaned making him jump, “I got him, you do General Brodi,” he offered, “Good luck and remember, you’re in charge!”

Kix blinked and wondered what drugs he injected himself with for a klick before automatically making his way to Brodi. Brodi gave him a bored expectant look. “Right...” don’t spook him but be in charge... “I need you to take your shirt off.” 

Brodi shook his head, “Naw t'anks. I’m good, jist scratched up. If yer 'av any bacta ter spare den I’ll be gran',” he denied and Kix was immediately grateful for Patch’s little speech. 

In charge but don’t spook him, he could do that. “I’m not asking,” Kix pinned him with a hard look. “Just take your shirt off and I’ll apply the bacta and make sure it’s just scratches.” He and Brodi stared at one another for a long moment. 

“Naw t’anks,” Brodi repeated, “Oi’m gran’. New need ter be seein’ me all naked.” He tilted his head to the side and Kix imagined a sly grin, “I’m saving meself fer someone special.” 

“That’s nice, but I don’t care,” the medic shot back, growing annoyed, “As the CMO of the 501st I not only outrank you when you step foot in here but my word is law.  _ Hiibir gar yasivr gurire _ ,” he growled out and Brodi jumped in surprise. 

Seconds slipped by as Brodi refused to look at him. Slowly, very slowly, his hands crept to the hem of his shirt, reluctantly obeying him. “Do I gotta? It’s jist...” he asked, ruby eyes still not looking at him. 

It’s just what? Kix almost demanded out loud but refrained. Don’t spook him. Kix studied him for a moment and was struck with how young he looked, and that was with him wearing the face mask that had seemed to always wear... Oh.  _ Oh _ . Realization dawned on him, “I won’t tell,” he promised, “What happens in the medbay stays there.” 

Brodi looked skeptical at that, “Promise?” 

“Promise,” Kix agreed and wondered if this was a special Jedi thing. 

Brodi stared at him hard, as if trying to see if he was being honest before he slumped down and sighed. “‘Ight. Gran’.” He didn’t sound too happy about it and neither did he look like it as his long sleeved shirt sat in his lap. 

Kix jerked a little in surprise at how  _ young _ Brodi was. Little stars. Brodi couldn’t be any older than a shiny. The High Generals made  _ him _ a General?

Brodi felt his stare and tensed up. “Waat?” He demanded. 

_ How old are you _ ? Kix almost asked. “Nothing,” he dismissed and gently began to probe him. “Looks like you were right about the scratches. I’ll apply the bacta,” he informed him, “Just don’t scratch them and take it easy for the rest of the day.”

“Oi can do dat,” his General agreed. 

Somehow Kix had a suspicion that that was a lie. 

  
  
  



End file.
